1. Field of the Invention:
The present invention relates to an apparatus for providing an isolated environment, and more particularly to a portable apparatus having an inflatable wall structure for providing an isolated environment for one or more individuals.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
Isolation tanks were first developed in 1954 by John C. Lilly to study what the human brain would do when cut off from all external sensory input. The purpose of isolation tanks is to prevent, as much as possible, any external stimuli from reaching an individual within the isolation tank, since it has been found that such isolation provides great psychological and physical benefits. An analysis of the benefits provided by the use of isolation tanks may be found in John C. Lilly's book, The Center Of the Cyclone, The Julian Press, New York (1972), as well as other works by the same author.
Isolation tanks developed in the past are generally constructed of heavy rigid and dense materials such as concrete, wood and other conventional building materials. Such tanks and their enclosures are accordingly very expensive and time consuming to construct. Furthermore, they are not portable and must therefore be constructed on permanently dedicated land.
These characteristics of presently known isolation tanks have greatly limited their use and sale due to the fact that only a limited number of people could afford such devices and owned sufficient areas of land to permit their construction.
Furthermore, in some instances it was found that the massive and rigid materials of such previously known tanks failed to provide adequate isolation from certain types of environmental stimuli, particularly low frequency accoustic energy of the type generated by earth tremors, heavy traffic and the like. Accordingly a need exists for isolation tanks permitting greater isolation from low frequency accoustical stimuli.
Thus a need exists for a low cost, easily assembled, portable isolation tank structure that provides greater isolation than known devices, particularly in terms of attenuating low frequency accoustic stimuli. In this regard it is further pointed out that low frequency stimuli are often the most discomforting since in many cases they cannot be specifically identified by those experiencing them, with the result that they become subconsciously discomforting. Thus complete relaxation cannot adequately be achieved unless low frequency stimuli are eliminated.